MOMENTS (CHAPTER 1- MYSTERY)
by goldenboat
Summary: SUMMARY- This is a new story universe on Alex/Phai. Each chapter will comprise of a separate story and will deal with various moments of their lives. CHAPTER SUMMARY- Alexander becomes a king and decides to make a grand gesture on his beloved's birthday...cancelling his original plan. The result is a lot of lousy lies, confusion, silliness and Mystery.


"Happy Birthday to you" cried another group of invitees , for what seemed like umpteenth time making the cyan eyed man in the centre of their attention wince yet again.

It was his first birthday since his Alex was crowned the king and he seemed to have gone all the way with celebrations. Lavish feasts of every flavor and taste, rich flowing wine, trained musicians, nubile court dancers …. and even jesters.

Wherever he looked, intensely flashy decorations caught his eyes all over the heavily embellished walls and ceiling of the massive hall. It was starting to give him a headache. He squinted hard to look across the room at the sound of heavy cackle.

Oh lord.

Alexander had commissioned several poets to write odes to him on this occasion…much to the cyan eyed man's wide eyed surprise. One of them had started to recite a rather long drawn poem on his grace…apparently under the influence of gallons of rich un-watered wine.

It was so over the top and absurd, Hephaistion was itching to choke the daylights out of the intoxicated man…gracefully.

Even a level headed person like Ptolemy couldn't help giggling at the sheer 'monstrosity' of the poem..not to speak about others who looked like they were listening to the joke of the century. Cassander's face was red with effort to control laughter.

Hephaistion wanted to run away and hide in the comfort of his own room.

But he couldn't.

His Alex had taken so much trouble to organize this party...

To say that Hephaistion was sad was an understatement. He was devastated. It wasn't that he didn't see the love behind the royal birthday party. He did.

But it wasn't really needed.

Ever since childhood his birthdays had been a day for just the two of them. They had been special because Alexander made them so with his sweet little gestures.

Unconsciously.

Standing in the middle of the crowded hall, he remembered something and smiled.

The apple tree.

It was old, knobby and mighty high. Every day, they passed by it on their way to the classes. The red luscious orbs of golden goodness used to shine brightly in morning sun and make Hephaistion's mouth water.

On one such birthday, a boy Alexander decided to climb it and pluck the apples for his best friend.

He managed it effortlessly.

But after plucking all the fine ones from uppermost branches, climbing down proved to be a rather difficult endeavor.

Alexander didn't want to drop them on the ground and risk bruising them…

so he decided to sit there and wait till he thought about a way to take his precious bounty down safely.

'The way' arrived in the form of Hephaistion who got panicked when Alexander missed their evening meal, and decided to venture out to find him.

Yes …they got down safely..without any bruised apple and one nicely bruised Alexander.

It had always been like this.

A tiny little locket…clumsily but lovingly crafted. A stolen kiss behind the stables. A night full of passion when nothing else was available except the giver himself.

Hephaistion had carefully stored away every one of those gifts.

He sighed.

May be it's a sign of things to come.

His Alex was a king now…

…and the kings made grand gestures …didn't they?

A sudden movement beside him broke his train of thoughts.

"Everything all right my Tion?" someone whispered beside him and Hephasition startled.

"Where were you all this time? I was getting worried Alex!" Hephaistion answered in return. Alexander looked like he had been running up mountains. His pristine white chiton was damp and face was covered with a sheen of heavy sweat.

A strange look colored the face of the golden man but disappeared instantly.

"Err..there was some problem in the…camps and I had to sort it out." Alexander replied. He wasn't really looking at his Tion while speaking and it made Hephaistion frown. Something inside his chest tightened up all of a sudden.

"You could have asked me to come with you! Is it serious?" Hephaistion couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Something was wrong.

His face must have shown his inner torment. Alexander's face softened and he closed their distance. He came to stand behind his lover while his chin rested on the firm shoulders.

"It's nothing Tion…someone just ran away."

"Who?"

"Uhh..a soldier. I had to find him."

A runaway soldier so important that Alexander had to find him on his own? Hephaistion wasn't buying it for a second.

"You couldn't send the troops? Or call me? Or the guards? It's dangerous for you to go alone after a rogue my king!"

"He..he's not a rogue..I swear..he's just a little scared." The stuttered little answer deepened the mystery even more.

Okay. Hephaistion really had to meet this scared, not rogue, runaway soldier Alexander knew so much about.

The rest of the night passed beautifully. With Alexander by his side…the party was more bearable that it had been.

When they retired to bed , Alexander surrounded his Tion within the warm enclosure of his arms and kissed him passionately.

"You liked the party right? It..it was something that you wanted?"

By this point Hephaistion was too far gone to be angry. The sensation of the lips on his body proved to be his undoing.

"Yea..yes Alex." he somehow whispered. It was a lie…albeit a sweet one.

He still needed to meet the rogue soldier though..but that could wait.

At least for the night.

But things started to get weird from then on.

"What are those scratches?" Hephaistion asked the next day on their way to the camps where Alexander was to meet the army officers.

His golden one was wearing an off-shoulder chiton and he couldn't help but notice some marks on Alexander's upper left arm.

It was intensely unnerving. It wasn't that they were unfamiliar with wounds. They had been dallying with bloody wounds ever since they were little boys. But there was something about the mark that set it apart.

Alexander paled and groped for a suitable answer.

"Uhh..remember the rogue I was talking to you about?" Alexander looked sideways at his Tion.

"He scratched you?"

"Uhuh"

"And you didn't banish him or put him to death?"

Alexander winced much to Hephaistion's surprise.

"He..he's young my love. He did it because he was scared. He isn't dangerous I swear."

Now this was getting out of hand.

"I gotta meet him Alex…" Hephaistion exclaimed in a no-nonsense tone as his lover visibly gulped.

"Soon..I swear…" and that was it.

"What's his name?" Maybe, he could use his sources to identify the errant man who was bold enough to hurt his Alex.

"Don't know yet?" came the reply.

And wasn't that strange.

In the next three days…Alexander excused himself from Hephaistion's presence in the most inopportune moments raising his suspicion. They all had a pattern. Nikos would whisper something in Alexander's ears and he would excuse himself and rush off leaving his lover behind.

And the questions.

A whole deluge of them.

Strange and random…

"What should I do if someone ingests wood and falls sick?"

Hephaistion was leaning against the headboard and going through some crucial documents. The question made him fall off the bed.

"May I ask who?"

Alexander looked sheepish but remained silent.

"The rogue soldier?" By now it was pretty much given.

Alexander blushed but nodded shyly.

"Make him drink lots of water and it will pass. Shouldn't you call Phillip?"

"Naah..he's not suitable to handle him Tion"

And with these great parting words Alexander ran off yet again.

After three days Hephaistion had had enough. He had to get to the bottom of it.

He was sure something was serious. He strongly suspected Alexander was in danger..and he was hiding it so as not to make his Tion worry.

Because seriously…the questions made no sense.

He was sure the soldier was a figment of his lover's imagination.

No soldier in Alexander's force was insane enough to bite the king, scratch his shoulders, ingest inedible things like wood and blankets, smell funky and finally….poop green.

The mystery was solved soon enough.

It was the fourth day since the party. Hephaistion had used all his sources and informers to track the errant soldier..without any success.

He was exhausted and fell in a light doze while waiting for Alexander who was away yet again.

A light noise woke him up and it was then that he heard it.

"Why did you bring him here?" Alexander inquired to someone in a hushed tone..

"My king, he was whining for you the entire day!" someone answered back. His helpless tone betrayed his identity.

Nikos.

"Tion will be so angry! He already hates him."

"He wouldn't my king!" Nikos stuttered.

So the rogue was in their palace?

Good. Now he would meet Hephaistion's wrath.

And then he heard it.

A tiny playful bark.

What?

Unable to keep up his charade any longer Hephaistion jumped up from bed and rushed to the nearby chamber where the voices were heard.

What he saw stunned him. Nikos stood by the door…face downcast.

Inside the room, stood his Alexander with a little brown puppy in hand. It was wriggling and licking the golden hands that held him captive.

He looked up to find Hephaistion's inquiring glance and rushed to explain.

"I swear…" He couldn't complete his sentence.

Hephaistion silently extended his hands towards the puppy and Alexander relented.

Strangely enough the pup didn't mind the transfer. He yipped lightly and wagged his tiny tail.

He was the most beautiful pup Hephaistion had ever seen. Blue eyes full of mischief, light brown fur, cute button nose and tiny white streaks across the back. He wore a tiny golden locket around the neck.

Hephaistion looked closely and his heart sped up.

"Happy Birthday Tion!" it read simply.

So this was the rogue soldier? One who sent the entire force and their king in a tizzy?

"And you were keeping my present from me because…." Hephaistion asked in fond exasperation.

Really.

He should have guessed at the green poop comment.

Alexander blushed.

"I found him behind the army camp..shivering in cold. I wanted to give him to you on your birthday..but couldn't"

"Alex?" Hephaistion was sure there was more to it.

Sure enough Alexander visibly huffed and spoke up.

"I…I had a plan you know? I wanted to spend the day with you in the woods having a little picnic of our own. .."

And Alexander cancelled the plan for the mind numbing party?

The brunette stared silently prompting the blond man to continue.

"I wanted to hide the puppy in a basket…as a surprise.." he concluded shyly.

"That would have been beautiful Alex..why didn't you?"

Hephaistion was a little stunned about how the beautiful plan got ambushed of no apparent reason.

Alexander blushed at the fond exasperation of his lover's tone. He went for the broke.

"I changed my plan. I..I thought, I am a king now. I have to make grand gestures…"

Hephaistion felt something warm crawling inside him.

Both literally and figuratively.

The love that shined through his golden one's eyes was worth all the confusion of the world.

Not to be outdone at the sappiness all around, the puppy chose the exact same moment to pee on him…and the warm liquid seeped through his chest.

Hephaistion looked at his lover and broke into a hearty laughter…the wet puppy clutched to his chest.

All the confusion, weirdness of the week finally blossomed brightly in his chest.

His Alexander was an adorably lousy liar.

They retired to the bed with the now clean puppy dozing under a blanket.

"Promise me something." whispered the brunette straddling the golden thighs.

"Anything my love" Alexander relaxed in the gentle touches.

"Never ever make grand gestures with me…okay?" Hephaistion lowered his face to bring it in the crook of Alexander's neck and inhaled deeply.

It was the smell of home.

Alexander sighed contentedly as their heart beat in unison.

"What about the pup Tion?" the golden man couldn't help asking. He had fallen in love with the little tyke.

Hephaistion loving looked at the little lump under the blankets and smiled at his king.

"He is mine…and I am gonna call him.."

"Call him what Tion?" Alexander breathed out.

"Mystery."

All was well at last.


End file.
